Chapter 19 - THE NIGHT TWO SISTERS FACED THE FLOOD"They're still inside!"
Diamond's voice trembled as she watched the emergency coordinator study the latest reports.
On the map, Riverside Learning Center sat dangerously close to the swollen creek.
The road leading to the building was flooded.
Water had entered the ground floor.
Three children and their caregiver were trapped upstairs.
Miriam stood beside Diamond, holding her phone.
She had tried calling Denise repeatedly.
Nothing.
Gold approached them.
"Any news?"
The coordinator looked up.
"A specialized rescue team has reached the area. They're preparing to approach by boat."
Miriam closed her eyes.
"Thank God."
Diamond stared at the sensor readings.
The water continued rising.
Her hands shook.
Gold noticed.
"Diamond?"
"What if they're too late?"
Gold took her hand.
"Listen to me. The responders know where they are. They're working on it."
Diamond swallowed.
"I just keep thinking about those children."
"So do I."
Gold squeezed her hand.
"But we need to let the professionals do their jobs."
At 1:24 a.m., the rescue team reached Riverside Learning Center.
The firefighters approached from the side of the building, where the current was less dangerous.
They secured their rescue boat and made contact with Denise through an upstairs window.
Inside, three frightened children were huddled beneath a blanket.
The youngest was only four years old.
One child was crying for his mother.
Another kept asking whether the building would collapse.
Denise had spent nearly an hour trying to remain calm.
When she saw the firefighters, she began crying.
"Please take them first."
The rescue team fitted the children with appropriately sized flotation equipment and brought them out under close supervision.
One by one, they were transferred to safety.
Denise came last.
Back at the community shelter, the radio crackled.
"Riverside evacuation complete. Four people recovered. All conscious. Medical assessment pending."
Miriam covered her face.
Diamond's knees weakened.
Gold caught her arm.
"They made it."
Diamond began crying.
"They made it."
The sisters embraced.
Miriam joined them.
Abigail, standing nearby, quietly wrapped her arms around all three.
For a few seconds, the four women stood together while rain hammered against the shelter windows.
It was not the family anyone had imagined seventeen years earlier.
But it was a family that had chosen to protect one another.
There was little time to celebrate.
At 1:39 a.m., another emergency call arrived.
An accessible evacuation shuttle had been delayed while collecting residents from the western part of the neighborhood.
The driver reported that a connecting road was becoming impassable.
Gold had been helping coordinate communication between shelter volunteers and transportation staff.
She approached the emergency coordinator.
"There's a woman named Mrs. Wallace still waiting at the pickup point."
The coordinator checked the passenger list.
"She's on the shuttle's route."
"She uses a wheelchair. Her daughter called the shelter twice."
The coordinator nodded.
"We'll confirm her status with the driver."
Several minutes later, the shuttle arrived at a designated high-ground pickup location near the community center.
Mrs. Wallace was among the waiting passengers.
Two transportation workers helped her aboard.
Gold was asked to assist with passenger communication while an authorized driver transported the group to a larger emergency shelter.
Before leaving, she called Diamond.
"I'm going with the shuttle to help everyone get checked in."
Diamond looked concerned.
"Are you sure it's safe?"
"The coordinator approved the route. The driver knows where we're going."
Diamond hesitated.
"Call me when you get there."
Gold smiled.
"I will."
"And Gold?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't do anything reckless."
Gold laughed softly.
"Look who's talking."
Diamond smiled.
Then her expression grew serious.
"I mean it."
Gold's voice softened.
"I know."
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Gold said:
"I love you, Diamond."
Diamond froze.
Her sister had never said those words before.
Not directly.
Not without hesitation.
Diamond swallowed.
"I love you, too."
The call ended.
Gold boarded the shuttle.
At 1:56 a.m., the rain intensified.
The shuttle was traveling along an approved route when emergency personnel announced that additional streets were closing.
The driver received instructions to turn toward an alternate shelter.
But before he could reach the intersection, water began rushing across the road.
He stopped immediately.
A vehicle ahead had stalled.
The driver attempted to reverse, but traffic behind the shuttle prevented him from moving safely.
Within moments, the water reached the lower steps.
"Everyone stay seated," he instructed.
Gold looked toward Mrs. Wallace.
The older woman's hands were trembling.
"What's happening?"
Gold knelt beside her.
"The driver has contacted emergency services."
Mrs. Wallace looked toward the window.
"That water is getting high."
Gold swallowed.
"I know."
She reached for the woman's hand.
"Let's listen to the driver and stay together."
The vehicle's engine stopped.
Rain struck the windows.
The driver radioed their location.
Emergency responders confirmed that assistance was being sent.
But the current outside was increasing.
Gold checked her phone.
Two missed calls from Diamond.
She tried calling back.
The call failed.
The signal was weak.
Gold typed a message instead.
We're delayed. I'm okay. Responders are coming.
The message remained unsent.
Back at the community center, Diamond noticed a new spike in the water-level readings near the shuttle's route.
Her stomach tightened.
She contacted the emergency coordinator.
"Has the shuttle arrived?"
The coordinator checked with dispatch.
"Not yet."
Diamond looked at the dashboard.
"Water near that intersection is rising quickly."
The coordinator relayed the information and confirmed the shuttle's location.
A rescue team was already moving toward it.
Diamond stared at her phone.
Gold's last message had arrived nearly twenty minutes earlier.
I love you, Diamond.
She tried calling again.
No answer.
Miriam approached.
"What's wrong?"
Diamond looked up.
"Gold's shuttle hasn't reached the shelter."
Abigail heard the words.
Her face turned pale.
"What?"
Diamond stood.
"They're sending help."
Abigail reached for her phone.
"Where is she?"
Diamond shook her head.
"We don't know exactly what the situation is yet."
Abigail began trembling.
For seventeen years, she had grieved a daughter she believed dead.
Now, after finally finding both her girls, she faced the possibility of losing one again.
"No," she whispered.
Diamond took her hand.
"Mom, listen to me."
Abigail froze.
It was the first time Diamond had called her that without thinking.
Diamond tightened her grip.
"Gold needs us calm."
Abigail nodded through her tears.
"Okay."
They stood beside the emergency coordinator, waiting.
At the flooded intersection, firefighters reached the shuttle.
The driver followed their instructions.
The passengers were evacuated in small groups using specialized rescue equipment.
Gold helped keep everyone calm while the trained responders handled the transfers.
Mrs. Wallace was frightened.
She refused to release Gold's hand until a firefighter reassured her.
"You're going to be okay, ma'am."
Gold smiled.
"See? They're here."
Mrs. Wallace began crying.
The firefighters moved her to safety.
Other passengers followed.
Then, as Gold prepared to leave the shuttle, a sudden surge struck the vehicle.
The shuttle shifted.
A handrail near the exit came loose.
Gold lost her balance.
A firefighter reached toward her.
"Hold on!"
Gold grabbed the frame of the doorway.
For a second, she managed to remain upright.
Then another surge hit.
Her fingers slipped.
She fell into the water.
The current carried her away from the shuttle before the firefighter could reach her.
"Person in the water!" someone shouted.
The rescue team immediately called for additional swift-water support.
Gold struggled to keep her head above the surface.
The current spun her sideways.
She struck a floating piece of debris.
Pain shot through her shoulder.
She tried to call for help, but water filled her mouth.
Then she saw a low building ahead.
A storage structure beside the road.
Gold reached toward its metal railing.
Her fingers caught.
She pulled herself against the current, desperately trying to hold on.
Above her, rain blurred the streetlights.
She could hear voices shouting in the distance.
Then her grip began slipping.
At the community center, the emergency radio crackled.
"Shuttle passengers evacuated. One passenger separated during transfer. Rescue search underway."
Diamond went still.
Abigail grabbed the edge of the table.
"Who?"
The coordinator listened.
A pause followed.
Then the response came.
"Female teenager. Approximately seventeen years old. Identified as Gold Whitmore."
Abigail screamed.
Diamond felt the room tilt beneath her.
"No."
She reached for the radio.
"Please tell them where the current is going!"
The coordinator was already relaying the sensor information and the nearest known high-ground access points.
Rescue teams searched along the flooded street.
Minutes passed.
Then another transmission arrived.
"Possible visual contact near the storage building."
Diamond held her breath.
A second voice spoke.
"Subject is no longer visible from our position."
Abigail began sobbing.
Diamond gripped her mother's hand.
Then a final transmission came through.
"Swift-water team entering the area. Stand by."
May you like
The radio went silent.
And Diamond realized that after spending seventeen years searching for the sister she never knew existed, she might lose Gold on the very night they had finally learned how to love each other.
